Tube Upgrades (2)

Keith Prince: Across the whole London Underground network and broken down for each individual Tube Line, what does the remaining upgrade work entail?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL’s) investment programme, including Tube line upgrades, is currently under review. This follows the funding package TfL reached with the Government for the first half of this financial year.
Construction at around 300 TfL sites was brought to a safe stop in late March to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. As work resumes, TfL will assess what effect the new ways of working will have on project timescales.
TfL is continuing to work closely with the Government on the longer term sustainable funding which will be needed for transport in London beyond October, and will be reviewing its investment programme as part of this work. This could affect the remaining scope and cost of work, as well as completion timescales.
A further update on TfL’s investment programme will be available this autumn.

Tube Upgrades (1)

Keith Prince: Across the whole London Underground network and broken down for each individual Tube Line, what Tube upgrades are yet to be completed?

The Mayor: In recent years, Transport for London (TfL) has upgraded the Jubilee, Northern and Victoria lines. Further enhancements are also planned for the Northern line to support the introduction of the Northern Line Extension, as well as the Jubilee line.
As part of the Four Lines Modernisation programme, TfL is upgrading the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.
On the Piccadilly line, TfL has signed a contract to purchase 94 new Tube trains, with the first new trains entering service in 2024.
TfL also has plans to upgrade the Piccadilly line signalling, and to upgrade the Bakerloo, Central and Waterloo & City lines. However, it cannot commit to this next generation of improvements to London’s transport network without sustainable, identified sources of capital funding.

Tube Noise (3)

Tony Devenish: Data collected by TfL engineers from within residential properties indicates the Pimlico area requires rail grinding every 3 months to lower ground borne residential tube noise, so when will this program be initiated as part of TfL's enhanced program to tackle residential tube noise until a long-term solution is found?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is aware of the concerns of residents in this area.
As a result of the coronavirus outbreak, TfL’s residential noise monitoring programme is currently suspended, but readings in Pimlico will be prioritised once this work resumes. TfL will then continue to take regular noise measurements to determine how often rail grinding should be carried out for maximum effectiveness, within the parameters of its network-wide rail grinding programme.
If noise levels are shown to have risen significantly, TfL will evaluate its programme of rail grinding work and consider whether rail grinding in this area can be brought forward.

384 Bus (6)

Susan Hall: Will the Mayor publish the consultation responses he received on proposed changes to the route of the 384 bus?

The Mayor: Please refer to my response to question Mayor's Question 2020/1798

TfL Staff Redeployment

Keith Prince: How many TfL staff were redeployed to drive Tube trains since the start of March?

The Mayor: Besides the 157 redeployed Night Tube drivers referenced in my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/1746, no other TfL staff have been redeployed to drive Tube trains since the start of March. As described in my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/1749, it is not possible to simply move staff in to Tube driving roles as they would need training. Tube driver training has been suspended as it would be impossible to maintain a safe social distance while training in a confined in-cab environment.

Retired Tube Drivers

Keith Prince: How many retired Tube drivers were rehired to drive Tube trains since the start of March?

The Mayor: Transport for London did not rehire any retired Tube drivers to drive trains since the start of March. Any returning retiree would require some degree of retraining to safely requalify. As it would be impossible to maintain a safe social distance while training in a confined in-cab environment, such training has been suspended.

Night Tube Redeployment (1)

Keith Prince: Since the Night Tube was suspended, how many Night Tube drivers have been redeployed to drive Tube trains?

The Mayor: Since the Night Tube was suspended, 157 drivers have been redeployed to the daytime service.

Tube Upgrades (4)

Keith Prince: Across the whole London Underground network and broken down for each individual Tube Line, what are the current projected timeframes for completing the London Underground’s upgrade work?

The Mayor: Please see my answer to Mayor's Question 2020/1739.

Tube Noise (1)

Tony Devenish: Taking account of the additional urgency, given many vulnerable residents continuing to self-isolate at home, what date will you begin installation of Delkor resilient track fasteners on the southbound Victoria line between Victoria and Pimlico?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is continuing to investigate the feasibility of the Delkor track fastening product and its suitability for this location.
Reducing noise is a complex engineering challenge as the infrastructure of different Tube lines is unique. Separate designs are required for different sections of the network, and in some cases bespoke components are imported from China with long lead times. The coronavirus pandemic could also delay this process.
TfL will provide your office with an update on this work by September 2020.

Tube Noise (2)

Tony Devenish: What date will rail grinding occur on the Victoria line in the Pimlico area after TfL promised an increased frequency of grinding?

The Mayor: Over the weekend of 23-25 May 2020, Transport for London (TfL) carried out extensive rail grinding on the Victoria line, including station-to station grinding between Victoria and Pimlico, in both directions.
Currently, rail grinding is next scheduled for the Victoria line in late 2020. I have asked that TfL continues to keep you updated on this programme, including plans for the Pimlico area, over the coming months.

Tube Upgrades (3)

Keith Prince: Across the whole London Underground network and broken down for each individual Tube Line, what is the current estimated cost of completing the London Underground’s upgrade work?

The Mayor: Please see my answer to Mayor's Question 2020/1739.

Blue light collaboration

Shaun Bailey: What can we learn for the future from the blue light collaboration that has occurred during COVID-19?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade has proven to be flexible and responsive to a new and challenging risk environment, quickly putting arrangements in place to provide support to partners. Over 300 Firefighters have worked with paramedics to drive ambulances, almost 100 firefighters have been part of the Pandemic Multi-Agency Response Teams, and the 10 millionth piece of PPE was recently delivered to social care providers from the Brigade Distribution Centre in Croydon.
The effectiveness of these arrangements has been helped by the attitude of staff and their willingness to adapt quickly to a difficult operating environment. It has also required adopting new approaches to delivering existing services, creating new delivery tools and improving accessibility to those services. The London Fire Commissioner is hopeful that this work will pave the way for future considerations.
The support of the representative bodies has been essential in securing agreements for new ways of working, and the Commissioner will continue to make positive engagement with the unions a cornerstone of any changes to working practices.